The
Indian Maritime Foundation (IMF) was established in December 1993 by a group of officers who have served in the Indian Navy, the Indian Merchant Marine and other professions.
They have dedication and a high sense of commitment to this cause of public service they have embarked upon.

The IMF is a non profit
organization, registered in Pune as a charitable trust. It has branches in Delhi, Mumbai and Chennai.

Seminar on Indigenization in the Maritime Domain and Implementing the Challenges of ‘Make in India’ The Combined Study Group of
the Indian Maritime Foundation
organized this seminar which
was held at the Central Park
Hotel, Pune on 5th November,
2015. Commodore Rajan Vir welcomed
the Chief Guest VADM SPS Cheema,
FOCinCWEST, the moderators and
speakers and delegates that included
defence officers both serving
and retired, officers and cadets
from the merchant marine, IMF
members, captains of industry,
academics, ladies etc. VADM Pasricha,
in his inaugural address, gave
a brief background of the maritime
situation of the country. He
traced the development of the
Navy over the years, its indigenization
programmes. with its successes
and shortcomings. The Chief Guest
VADM Cheema, after thanking the
IMF for organizing a seminar
on this very important and timely
topic and inviting him, traced
the beginnings of indigenization
in the Navy and dwelt on its
expansion plans which gave industry
huge business opportunities.
This was followed by sessions
chaired by Radm Satish Godbole
and Radm K. Srinivas, during
which outstanding papers were
presented by luminaries from
across the spectrum. Read more
about this on our Face Book page.

Remembrance Day 2015 Members of the Indian Maritime
Foundation paid homage to the
Seamen who lost their lives during
WWI and WW II, at the Memorial
constructed at the Mahatma Gandhi
Udyan (Bund Garden) on Sunday
the 15th of November 2015. Capt
AK Bahl President (Marine) of
British Marine was the Chief
Guest.

JUNIOR SIMA SEASCAPES COMPETITION-2015 The annual Junior SIMA (Society
of Indian Marine Artists) exhibition
and ‘on the spot’ seascapes painting
competition for children, was
held in the cool and tranquil
ambience of the Empress Garden,
Pune on Sunday 22 Nov 15. Forty
children, coming from different
local schools, took part. The
event began with a demonstration
by Mr Prateek Tandon, a professional
artist member of SIMA, on how
to paint a seascape, and was
keenly observed by the children
standing around him. During the
event, Mr Pingle, a senior trustee
and the General Secretary of
the Empress Garden, dropped by
and was delighted to see what
he called a welcome and laudable
activity being undertaken for
children in the garden. It was
truly a fun-filled morning, much
looked forward to by us every
year. At the end of it, we hoped
that a little sea-mindedness
and pride was injected in the
young minds present there.

IMF 22nd Anniversary FunctionThe Indian Maritime Foundation
(IMF) turned 22 in December 2015,
and we were indeed fortunate
that the Director General of
The Indian Coast Guard (ICG)
accepted our invitation to be
our chief guest and deliver the
annual anniversary lecture. Mutually
convenient dates were discussed
and the anniversary lecture-cum-dinner
was fixed for Sunday, the 17th
of January, 2016. Vice Admiral
HS Bisht, DG ICG was kind enough
to come all the way from Delhi
to be with us. We had a galaxy
of flag and Senior Officers –
both serving and retired at the
well attended lecture. Prominent
amongst these dignitaries were,
Lt. Gen. BS Rawat, GOC-in-C Southern
Command, VAdm Ashok Kumar, Commandant
NDA, Addl DG SPS Basra, Commander
Coast Guard Western Seaboard,
Vadm V Pasricha, VAdm P Chauhan,
RAdm PD Sharma, Cmde H Batra,
CO INS Shivaji, Dr. Saxena, Principal
Tolani Maritime Institute, Capt
SS Naphade, ex- Nautical Advisor
and a host of others. Cmde Vir
welcomed all the guests and after
the traditional lighting of the
lamp, delivered his welcome address.
Admiral Bisht, although only
one year into the job of Director
General, was wax eloquent about
the growth and future of the
Indian Coast Guard, its roles
and functions, and its growing
importance in the Maritime Domain.
His talk, accompanied by a classy
presentation kept the audience
at rapt attention throughout.
Full of information and yet not
so much as to choke the listeners’
faculties, the talk was a heady
mix of facts that made one proud
of the Indian Coast Guard.

Seascapes Workshop at Peacock BayAfter a gap of two years, SIMA
members were again back at Peacock
bay at the National Defence Academy
in Jan, 16 for their seascapes
workshop. Among the participants
were all our enthusiastic art
stalwarts, including Shailesh
Sonawane, Hoshnar Kaikobad, Prateek
Tandon and Deepshikha. Shailesh
obliged the group by conducting
a demo on how to paint a seascape.
It was a day spent enjoyably
in the calmness of the Academy
on a Sunday, with a gentle, cool
breeze on the banks of the Khadakwasla
Lake. We express our gratitude
to VAdm G Ashok Kumar, Commandant,
for giving his approval for us
to visit NDA and our thanks go
to the staff of the Naval Training
Team for giving us all help during
the day.

Wreath Laying Ceremony at the Seafarers' Memorial, PuneIMF Council Members assembled
at the Seadarers' Memorial at
0900 hrs on the 1st of February
2016, for the Annual Wreath Laying
Ceremony. This Solemn ceremony
is performed each year in honour
of all seafarers - Navy, Merchant
Navy, Coast Guard, Fishermen
and all who venture into the
sea.

SIMA’s Annual Exhibition of SeascapesThe annual exhibition of seascape
paintings by the members of the
Society of Indian Marine Artists
( SIMA ), a sister organization
to the IMF established in 2001,
was held for three days in February
2016, at the recently renovated
and modernized art gallery in
central Pune, the Balgandharva
Kala Dalan. 45 fine seascapes
done by 13 of our artists were
on display. The Exhibition was
inaugurated by our chief guest,
Mrs Zarin Boyce, an eminent citizen
of Pune, who is a social worker
and a Rotarian of long standing.
She was welcomed and introduced
by Cmde R Vir, President of SIMA.

Lecture by Vice Admiral Pradeep Chauhan on Maritime SecurityOn the 23rd of Feb 2016, we were
treated to an outstanding talk
by Admiral Chauhan at the Boat
Club, on Maritime Security and
how it concerns us. This is the
first in a series of lectures
scheduled to be delivered by
him over the next few months.